Inside Caverns of Time: Old Hillsbrad you may find many known characters at the front room of the Southshore Inn. There are Commander Mograine, Tirion Fordring, Arcanist Doan, Abbendis, Isillien, Fairbank and others. Here Commander Mograine reveals an artifact he found in Blackrock Spire during the Second War … an artifact that would serve as material to build … Ashbringer.

Commander Mograine: Keep your voices down. There are strangers about … Brothers and sisters, I have called you here today to discuss the fate of Lordaeron.

(Commander Mograine lowers his voice to a whisper.)

I hear things … Things that should not be. I have heard that Northrend is lost …

(Gasps can be heard throughout the room)

Commander Mograine: We must stand at the ready. I have faced undead before. They are ruthless killing machines, devoid of any emotion or compassion.

(Tirion Fordring nods.)

Tirion Fordring: Aye, I’ve battled them as well. We are ill-prepared as a kingdom to withstand such an assault.

Arcanist Doan: What do you propose, Mograine?

Commander Mograine: Propose? I propose that we prepare. That we prepare our loved ones, family and friends for the possibility of an undead holocaust. And there is this …

(Mograine unlocks the chest)

Abbendis By the Light! What is it?

Commander Mograine: I have had this object in my possession for 10 years. Since Blackrock Spire … I wrested it free from the remains of an orc lieutenant – a dark caster … It is from their homeworld. Do not get too close. I laid a hand upon it once … Only once and never again. The memories of that day still linger.

(Commander Mograine removes the gauntlet from his right arm and shows everyone his mangled hand.)

Commander Mograine: I surmise that this object is the living embodiment of shadows … darkness … It is a manifestation. It is a void.

Isillien: I do not see how this evil artifact is relevant to the undead. We must destroy it!

(Commander Mograine shakes his head)

Commander Mograine: No, old friend, it is very relevant. Let me ask you this, brothers and sisters: Can good exist without evil? Can there be light without dark? And if that answer is no, then could it be possible that because this artifact exists, its polar opposite must also exist? Could you imagine what the material manifestation of the Light could do against the undead?

Isillien: Nonsense, Mograine! It must be destroyed!

(Shock then silence overtakes the crowd)

NOTE: As you may view in the screenshots and video, all of them start casting Holy magic at the dark crystal.

Commander Mograine: It consumed the Light!

Tirion Fordring: Impossible!

Fairbank: Is … Is it getting lighter? Its coloration … It is changing.

Commander Mograine: BY THE LIGHT! Could it be? Could this be it? I must know … I will know.

(Commander Mograine reaches out to touch the light crystal.)

NOTE: An electric charge strikes at Mograine from within the crystal.

Commander Mograine: I … It … It is beautiful. What I felt when I touched it … The Light coursed through me and I through it … It healed my spirit.

Isillien: Your hand! It is healed!

(Mograine puts the crystal back inside the chest)

Commander Mograine: Let us never again speak of this day. Our enemies are many. They need not know we hold such artifacts. I have seen it … From this blessed crystal we will forge a weapon. This weapon will hold inside it a piece of each of us … And when it is used against undead, it shall cast them down. And in its wake, it will leave only ashes …

Tirion Fordring: The Ashbringer …

Arcanist Doan: The Ashbringer …

Fairbank: The Ashbringer …

Abbendis The Ashbringer …

Isillien: The Ashbringer …

You may read on the WoW Story Arcs section the transcript of what many NPCs say in-game as the first clues or mention of Ashbringer in the classic World of Warcraft (pre-Burning Crusade). Go here.